Japan's Uchishiba wins half-lightweight judo gold

BEIJING (AP) Japan's Masato Uchishiba has won his second straight Olympic gold medal, pinning France's Benjamin Darbelet just seconds into their final match in the men's 66-kilogram division and bringing Japan its first judo gold of the Beijing Games.

Uchishiba exploded into Darbelet and threw him to the ground shortly after the bout began Sunday. Darbelet managed to twist enough to keep the fall from ending the match, but Uchishiba then grabbed an armlock and Darbelet had to concede.

Darbelet was still grimacing in pain as Uchishiba bowed in victory.

Taking the bronzes were Cuba's Yordanis Arencibia, who defeated Russia's Alim Gadanov on points, and North Korea's Pak Chol Min, who outscored Mirali Sharipov of Uzbekistan with a waza ari.